the watcher

1 Samuel 30:1-4,6 Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no more. David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God. Yesterday we looked at "when rejection is good". We saw that David was saved from fighting his own people by being rejected by the other Philistine rulers. Furthermore, when we look at today's reading we see that it took him three days to return to Ziklag, the city king Achish gave to him to dwell. What did they find: 1 Samuel 30:1 Three days later, w

1 Samuel 29:1-4 The entire Philistine army now mobilized at Aphek, and the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel. As the Philistine rulers were leading out their troops in groups of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched at the rear with King Achish. But the Philistine commanders demanded, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”And Achish told them, “This is David, the servant of King Saul of Israel. He’s been with me for years, and I’ve never found a single fault in him from the day he arrived until today.” But the Philistine commanders were angry. “Send him back to the town you’ve given him!” they demanded. “He can’t go into the battle with us. What if he turns against us in battle and becomes our adversary? Is there any better way for him to reconcile himself with his master than by handing our heads over to him? Not all rejections are evil. What would have happened if David had been allowed to go into battle on the side of the Philistines? Would he have fought his own

  1 Samuel 28:5-6 When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the prophets. Someone asked why Saul had to go consult a spiritist, why would he go search after mediums that he had abolished? The answer is that a desperate man can go to any length. Saul was a desperate man, he was frustrated, God had left him. There was no way to communicate with God anymore. He had done much evil trying to kill David. Recall that he had the high priest and all his helpers executed. No one will like to be in the situation Saul was! Let us do a little study. What was Saul's undoing? He had disobeyed God just to look good in the sight of the people, now he had the people but God was not with him, he now sees how frustrating and dejecting it is. His seeking to look good in the eyes of the people made him disobey God and the loss is too great for him to bear. Proverbs

1 Samuel 27:1,4,12 But David kept thinking to himself, “Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe.” Word soon reached Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he stopped hunting for him. Achish believed David and thought to himself, “By now the people of Israel must hate him bitterly. Now he will have to stay here and serve me forever!” How many times have we driven others to the camp of the enemy because of our actions or inactions? Saul kept on coming at David to kill him to the point when David had to run to the enemy's camp to find succour. How are you treating your children, your spouse, your employees, your members, your people, all those who are in your circle of influence? Are you showing love and leading aright or are you visionless, selfish and only looking for personal gain? Have you allowed hate and envy to eat you up? We are to be the channel t

1 Samuel 26:1-2,9-11 Now some men from Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah to tell him, “David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which overlooks Jeshimon.” So Saul took 3,000 of Israel’s elite troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph. “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let’s get out of here!” When we look at the mistakes and great err some people did in scriptures especially in the old testament, we wonder why they act as if they do not have the fear of the Lord. It makes them look outrightly foolish and ridiculous. Wait, before we go on, let us remind ourselves of the reason we study these scriptures: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to

1 Samuel 25:32-35 David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. For I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would still be alive tomorrow morning.” Then David accepted her present and told her, “Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband.” Reading through chapter 25 of the book of 1Samuel we see the story of Nabal "a rich fool", for that is what his wife said: 1 Samuel 25:25a I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests.  The worst thing to happen to one is to have wealth, but no wisdom. If not of his wife's wisdom his whole family would have been whipped out! Scriptures gives us instructi

1 Samuel 24:4,6-7,12,17 “Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul. After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, “May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. Read through chapter 24 of the book of 1Samuel, you see the way David reasoned. Yes, Saul was coming for his life, he Saul had made it his main goal to kill David, yet when the perfect opportunity arose, David spared his life. What was David's

Psalms 108:3 I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.  I will sing your praises among the nations. Being grateful is a must attitude for every believer. It is part of our nature. To be acceptable, to have a sweet fragrance towards God and man, is to have a heart of gratitude. There is nothing disgusting and repulsive like an ungrateful heart. Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. He prayed and GAVE THANKS TO GOD, the fact that the law of the land had forbidden it did not deter him. What was the king compared to the mighty God? Exodus 15:11 “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord— glorious in holiness,  awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? I see Daniel as a role model, this was a promising young boy who had been captured from his home town and cou

1 Samuel 23:7-8,15,25 Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. “Good!” he exclaimed. “We’ve got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!” So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men. One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. When David heard that Saul and his men were searching for him, he went even farther into the wilderness to the great rock, and he remained there in the wilderness of Maon. But Saul kept after him in the wilderness. Saul was king of Israel, but he lost his place with God because of continued disobedience. In losing his place he also lost kingship and worse still, the lineage of kingship in Israel. What did he decide to do? He made it his mission to kill David whom he believed was going to take over the throne from Him. Now, let us look at this situation carefully. David did not choose himself, the same way Saul did

1 Samuel 22:11,16-19 King Saul immediately sent for Ahimelech and all his family, who served as priests at Nob. “You will surely die, Ahimelech, along with your entire family!” the king shouted. And he ordered his bodyguards, “Kill these priests of the Lord, for they are allies and conspirators with David! They knew he was running away from me, but they didn’t tell me!” But Saul’s men refused to kill the Lord’s priests. Then the king said to Doeg, “You do it.” So Doeg the Edomite turned on them and killed them that day, eighty-five priests in all, still wearing their priestly garments. Then he went to Nob, the town of the priests, and killed the priests’ families—men and women, children and babies—and all the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. Listen, do not give room for evil, do not play around with it, for like an infection it spreads and becomes impossible to control. Ephesians 4:26-27,31-32 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still

1 Samuel 21:10-11 So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing,  ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” Most of the record of those who had received God's grace to excel in scriptures experienced their difficult moments. They had what we can call the "rough beginning". Jacob had to flee from his father's house to go stay with his mother's relatives. Joseph was sold  into slavery to a strange land. Moses had to flee for his life. Mordecai had gallows built to hang him, the lists continues. Here we see David who was already anointed king fleeing from Saul into the enemy's territory. It got so bad that he had to act like a madman to avoid being killed. We must not go into despair when we face our initial challenges for it is just for a while, everything w

1 Samuel 20:30-34 Saul boiled with rage at Jonathan. “You stupid son of a whore!” he swore at him. “Do you think I don’t know that you want him to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother? As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you’ll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!” “But why should he be put to death?” Jonathan asked his father. “What has he done?” Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him. So at last Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David. Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat on that second day of the festival, for he was crushed by his father’s shameful behavior toward David. A good question to ask is how suddenly Saul forgot how he became king. How did he forget that he was just an ordinary lad sent on an errand to find his father's lost donkeys, when the Lord sent Samuel to find him. How quickly he forgot who enthroned him. The same One said he had been rejected, so in

1 Samuel 19:15,22-24 But Saul sent the troops back to get David. He ordered, “Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him!” Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he demanded.“They are at Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him. But on the way to Naioth in Ramah the Spirit of God came even upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy all the way to Naioth! He tore off his clothes and lay naked on the ground all day and all night, prophesying in the presence of Samuel. The people who were watching exclaimed, “What? Is even Saul a prophet?” Yesterday we looked at the danger of jealousy and how it can grow to become hate and then lead to other extreme behaviours. We see this play out with Saul, it began with jealousy, till it went to hate and then murder! However, we see him fall into disgrace, stripping himself naked in public and prophesying. When you fight God's own you fight God and He will surely arise and defend His own.

1 Samuel 18:7-9,14-15 This was their song:  “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!” This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. Listen, it is foolishness to envy the blessings of God in the life of anyone talk less of His anointed.  Envy is actually a sign of fear. A hidden knowledge within you to show that you are actually afraid of the person, the height they can attain and sometimes that you will be displaced. Envy eats into a person and blinds them from their own progress. They are trapped in monitoring others and are quick to find fault in others. One sign of envy which grows into hate is the fact that you blame all your woes on them. It is a terrible state t

1 Samuel 17:32-37 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!” I used to wonder what was the problem with people of Israel. Why was it that they had such a great privilege to be called God's own

1 Samuel 15:10-11,22-23 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the Lord all night. But Samuel replied,  “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?  Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.  So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” As I always say, what is the essence of listening so hard for instructions if you are not going to obey them? The keyword in our walk with God is OBEDIENCE, for what faith do you have if it is not a decision to obey. Recall, that the reason man fell at the beginning was "DISOBEDIENCE", the requirement hasn't changed, if you are to walk with

1 Samuel 14:4-6,15 To reach the Philistine outpost, Jonathan had to go down between two rocky cliffs that were called Bozez and Seneh. The cliff on the north was in front of Micmash, and the one on the south was in front of Geba. “Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!” Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified. Sometimes we say we wait on God for somethings, however, it may be the other way round.  God may be waiting for you to make your move of faith. Jesus said:  John 16:23-24 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this

Matthew 25:32-34 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats:  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. One thing is certain, there would be a separation! It has always been so from the beginning. * Darkness and Light Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. * Between Moses and the people and Korah and his people Numbers 16:32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that [appertained] unto Korah, and all [their] goods. * Those in the ark and those outside the ark Genesis 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generat

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. God is working His purpose out As year succeeds to year; God is working his purpose out, And the time is drawing near; Nearer and nearer draws the time, The time that shall surely be, When the earth shall be filled With the glory of God As the waters cover the sea. This is the first verse of a great hymn I love so much, written by  Arthur C. Ainger, 1894 and composed into music by  Martin F. Shaw, 1915. God is always there even when all seems quiet. Yes, He sees and works with the greater picture, but hello, that picture includes you, His child. The same way you boot your computer, behind the blank screen billions of processes are taking place , it continues till you see the welcome screen and you can finally log in and start your operations. The same way God is always working all things out, when you look with your physical eyes you can't see

1 John 2:7-10 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.   Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.   If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness.   Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.     As we go closer to the end of the year, we are led to look more on love. It is God's nature and also His deciding factor:   John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.   The opposite of love is hate, and it is a parasitic cankerworm that eats into its host.  

 1 Samuel 13:13-14 “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” When you are specially chosen by God you cannot afford to live by logic or mere human reasoning. The key word is obedience. Obedience is what will keep you in God's plan and favour. What is the use of receiving instructions if you will not obey it? It is better you never received the instructions in the first place. 1 Samuel 13:8-10 Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt

1 Samuel 12:3-4,23-24 Now testify against me in the presence of the Lord and before his anointed one. Whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong.” “No,” they replied, “you have never cheated or oppressed us, and you have never taken even a single bribe.” “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. We are called to follow the Lord, to walk in His way as we live our lives on earth.  Will everyone do so? No, some will resist, others will begin and drop by the way, however some will remain faithful to the end. Jesus explained this with the parable of the sower: Matthew 13:20-23 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the

1 Samuel 10:25 Then Samuel told the people what the rights and duties of a king were. He wrote them down on a scroll and placed it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people home again. Reading through scriptures we understand that we need a guide as we go through our time here on earth. The guide is to ensure that we do everything in order and also avoid regrets. We speak so much about civilization today, however, we must remember that civilization had come a long time ago, and it keeps being renewed season after season. Nothing should stop proper issuing of instructions. The chaos we have today is majorly because of lack of proper instructions to our young people, therefore chaos is imminent. Just as we saw in the book of Judges, when there was no king in Israel and the people ignored God as their king, abominations took place. Proverbs 4:1-2 My children, listen when your father corrects you.  Pay attention and learn good judgment, for I am giving you good guidance.  Don’t turn awa